Process and Device for Cremation

ABSTRACT

A perfected cremation process includes the following operations: placing a mortuary coffin inside a crematorium oven configured to carry out the combustion of the mortuary coffin and cremation of the corpse contained in its inside; initiating the combustion of the mortuary coffin; conducting the combustion of the mortuary coffin for a time such as to achieve the degradation of the mortuary coffin, wherein it is provided arranging a combustion accelerant on the outer surface of the mortuary coffin, preferably on the outer surface of the cover of the mortuary coffin, before the initiation operation. This accelerant includes a compound selected from alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium salts, alkali metal peroxides or alkaline earth metal peroxides.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. The Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a perfected cremation process.

2. The Relevant Technology

The cremation of a human body or, more generally, of any animal,represents a method that is becoming increasingly popular as analternative to the traditional burial process.

The cremation process usually involves placing a mortuary coffin orcasket, inside which the corpse to be cremated is placed, inside acrematorium oven usually equipped with two overlapping parts, separatedby a grid of refractory material.

The coffin is introduced into the upper part of the oven by means ofmetal guides and, subsequently, the combustion reaction is initiated.

The combustion of the coffin can take place according to differentsystems, which comprise bringing the walls of the oven to a red heat bymeans of electrical resistances or gas burners, or by using directflame.

The temperatures reached inside the oven, which are around 800-1000° C.,allow initiating an organic water evaporation process followed by thegasification of the body's organic substances, the combustion of thegases produced and the remaining solid compounds, until ashes andcalcified bones are obtained which progressively fall into the lowerpart of the oven where combustion is completed.

There is normally a ventilation system that continuously introduces airand therefore oxygen to encourage the continuation of combustion.

Then, the operator checks the inside of the oven through a peephole and,if the degradation of the coffin and the corpse in its inside iscompleted, pushes the remains of the body from the outside towards acooling area where the remains are collected and placed on a vibratingsieve, which eliminates the finest dust.

Finally, magnetic means separate the remaining metallic material (casketnails, any prostheses, etc.) and the ashes thus formed are collected,sealed and delivered to relatives.

The cremation process is therefore represented by a sequence of events,each with its own speed which depends on the chemical kinetics, thetemperature, the physical arrangement of the components and/or theavailability of reagents.

Disadvantageously, one of the drawbacks most felt by the operators ofthis sector consists in the time necessary for carrying out thecremation process.

In fact, a cremation process can usually last from 90 to 180 minutesoverall.

These values represent a great limitation to the effective potentials ofa crematorium plant because, in addition to limiting the dailyproductivity which hardly exceeds 9 cremations per day, it alsonegatively affects the amount of fuel necessary to maintain thecombustion reaction.

It is known that the combustion speed depends on a multiplicity offactors such as, for example, the effective diffusion of the comburentair towards the surface of the coffin which, having a parallelepipedshape, has a limited surface in relation to the high volume.

This conformational characteristic negatively affects the time requiredto carry out combustion precisely because the combustion process isinitiated by the surface.

In fact, it is known that the combustion speed of the coffin increasesconsiderably after the degradation and collapse of at least part of itsouter surface, during the combustion reaction, because exactly from thatmoment the surface of the coffin actually involved in the combustionreaction is greater.

More specifically, in fact, the carbonization reaction advancesperpendicularly to the surfaces exposed to contact with air and with aconstant speed, which can vary from 0.5 mm/min (for oak coffins) to 0.7mm/min (for spruce coffins), that is a time of about 25 minutes when thethickness to be degraded is about 15 mm.

Furthermore, disadvantageously, the charred layer has a low thermalconductivity and protects the underlying wood layers from heat, whichtherefore maintain their intrinsic mechanical characteristics.

Still disadvantageously, the presence of this charred layer on thesurface in contact with the air causes a temperature of about 100-300°C. to be maintained in the layers underlying this charred layer, causinga slow degradation of the wood present therein.

This phenomenon is related to the intrinsic properties of wood, inparticular to the reduced thermal conductivity thereof, to the highspecific heat and to the consistent moisture content.

Last but not least, the charred surface layer reduces the flow of oxygento the underlying layers, causing a further decrease in their combustionspeed.

A possible solution to this drawback is the one described in patentapplication EP3318802, in which it is reported to modify the structureof the crematorium oven by creating pipes for injecting a gaseousoxidizing agent, i.e., oxygen, directly inside the casket.

This solution makes it possible to reduce the total time required forthe cremation process up to 15%.

However, this solution has many drawbacks.

A first drawback is represented by the need to structurally modify theoven as a whole in order to be able to install the aforementioned pipeand a series of air ducts to be connected to the pipe itself.

These structural modifications obviously need to be carried out when theoven is off and with the support of specialized personnel, withconsequent waste of time and high construction costs.

A further drawback of this solution is represented by the limitedproduction life of the pipe which, being at the same time engaged in thedistribution of gas and in breaking the coffin, will need frequentreplacements due to its own deterioration.

Still disadvantageously, this solution does not allow to adequatelysolve the problem of the scarce diffusion of oxygen in the layersunderlying the surface of the wood, and from the kinetic point of viewit does not enable oxygen to establish an efficient contact with thesurface of the coffin, since it is diffused in the form of gas almostuniformly in the internal volume of the oven.

Last but not least, this solution entails disadvantageously having toforesee additional management costs for the crematorium plant due to thenecessary supply and storage operations of the liquid oxygen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention intends to carry out a cremation process of rapidimplementation which, in addition, overcomes the limitations anddrawbacks of the prior art indicated above.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a perfectedcremation process which allows improving the performance of thecrematorium ovens, both from an operational point of view, reducing thetime of the single cremation process, and from an economic point ofview, increasing the daily productivity of the oven.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention that this processcan be applied independently of the conformational structure of thecrematorium oven which is available.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention that the aforementionedcremation process is not dangerous for the environment and, inparticular, that it does not present a risk of explosions and that itdoes not cause the introduction of dangerous compounds into theenvironment.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention that thiscremation process promotes the destruction of the wooden planks of thecasket and the reduction of the time necessary for combustion.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention that theaforementioned cremation process is reliable, safe, economical andeasily executable by the operators in charge of the cremation in thecrematorium ovens known per se.

Last but not least, it is an object of the present invention that thecremation process respect the formal and ethical requirements in thetreatment of the corpse.

Said purposes are achieved with the realization of a cremation process,in accordance with the main claim.

Further characteristics of the process are described in the dependentclaims.

The object of the invention is also an article for accelerating acremation process and a kit for the accelerated combustion of a mortuarycoffin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned purposes, together with the advantages which will bementioned below, will be better highlighted during the description ofsome preferred embodiments of the invention which are given, by way ofnon-limiting example, with reference to the appended drawings, where:

FIG. 1 shows an axonometric view of a first embodiment of the article ofthe invention in an open configuration and containing the accelerant ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 shows the top view of the article of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2a shows the sectioned view along the section line II-II of thearticle of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 shows an axonometric view of an example of a mortuary coffin onwhich the article of FIG. 1 is arranged;

FIG. 4 shows an axonometric view of the support element of theinvention;

FIG. 5 shows the top view of the support element of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5a shows the sectioned view along the section line V-V of thesupport element of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The perfected cremation process, according to the preferred embodimentof the invention, is carried out in a fuelled crematorium oven known perse, suitable for carrying out the combustion of a mortuary coffin andthe cremation of the corpse contained therein, and comprises thefollowing operations, to be performed in succession:

-   -   ignition and pre-heating of the internal part of the crematorium        oven until reaching a temperature which can preferably vary        between 350 and 1050° C., depending on the type of crematorium        oven used;    -   arrangement of the mortuary coffin or funeral chest inside the        aforementioned oven;    -   initiating the combustion reaction of the mortuary coffin;    -   conducting the combustion reaction for a time such as to degrade        the mortuary coffin.

The quantification of the time necessary to carry out the degradation ofthe mortuary coffin, i.e., until ashes and calcified bones are obtainedin a quality substantially suitable to be then destined for relatives,is an evaluation that can be performed according to methods known per sefor an expert in the sector, such as the crematorium oven operator whois able to visually check the evolution of the combustion process insidethe oven.

Usually, the operation of conducting the combustion reaction comprises,in sequence, the operations of:

-   -   combustion of the outer surface of the coffin, generally in wood        such as mahogany, fir, larch or raw wood;    -   combustion of the internal part of the coffin, including any        furnishings such as coverings, shrouds or drapes;    -   combustion of the remaining surface of the coffin and the corpse        contained therein.

After the conduction operation, the ashes resulting from the degradationof the mortuary coffin and the corpse are preferably collected and thetemperature of the internal part of the oven is brought back to theinitial values.

If necessary, the arrangement, initiating and conduction operations arerepeated for each new and subsequent mortuary coffin that is subjectedto cremation in the crematorium oven.

Finally, the oven is cooled down to a temperature suitable to allow itto be switched off.

According to the preferred embodiment of the process of the invention,before the aforementioned combustion initiating operation, an accelerantis placed on the outer surface of the mortuary coffin.

The accelerant of the present invention comprises a compound selectedfrom the alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium salts,alkali metal peroxides and alkaline earth metal peroxides.

Preferably, said accelerant comprises from 10 to 99.9% by weight, morepreferably from 50 to 99.9% by weight, even more preferably from 90 to99.9% by weight, based on the total weight of the accelerant of theaforementioned compound.

It is specified that in the accelerant of the present invention, theremaining percentage necessary for the balance to 100% by weightconsists of inevitable impurities and/or compounds with inert action ofthe type known per se in the chemical sector.

Advantageously, the use of this accelerant in the cremation process ofthe invention significantly accelerates the kinetics of the combustionreaction, rapidly supplying oxygen and promoting the destruction of thewooden layer which constitutes the coffin.

The use of the accelerant of the invention therefore allows to reducethe time necessary for the realization of the single cremation process,increasing the daily productivity of the crematorium oven.

The aforementioned compound is preferably selected from nitrates,chlorates, perchlorates, permanganates and peroxides, in particularnitrates, chlorates, perchlorates, permanganates and peroxides ofpotassium, sodium, ammonium, barium, lithium.

These compounds are oxidizing compounds which, exposed to the heat ofthe crematorium oven, react by releasing oxygen which promotes thecombustion and destruction of the wood of the coffin, accelerating thetotal combustion with respect to known cremation processes.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the accelerantcomprises an alkali metal nitrate.

The use of potassium nitrate is particularly preferred.

The use of potassium nitrate is in fact particularly advantageous foruse in the cremation process because, surprisingly, it is able toaccelerate the combustion reaction of the mortuary coffin even withoutusing the direct flame.

As can be seen from the results of Example 4, in fact, the use ofpotassium nitrate as an accelerant of the process of the inventionallows initiating the combustion reaction of the surface of the mortuarycoffin starting from reaching about 700° C. in the absence of the burnerflame, and by carrying out the combustion directly on the surface of thewood of the coffin, producing a strong localized combustion heat,advantageously accelerating the gasification process and the consequentkinetics of the combustion reaction.

Once the combustion reaction is initiated, it continues quickly andwithout further intervention by the oven operators and without the needto operate burners or direct flames.

An advantageous energy saving when using the crematorium plant is thusobtained.

In particular, potassium nitrate was found to initiate the combustionreaction thanks to the radiant heat of the oven when the temperature ofthe latter reaches about 400° C., preferably about 600° C., morepreferably about 715° C.

Still advantageously, potassium nitrate is a compound considered safewhich does not require particular precautions in handling, transportingor storing.

Furthermore, the combustion reaction of the mortuary coffin carried outin the presence of potassium nitrate does not produce substances deemeddangerous for the environment or which could damage the crematorium ovenitself, as can be seen from the results of comparative example 2.

As can be seen from the examples below, in the process according to thepreferred embodiment of the invention, the initiation of the combustionreaction of the cover of the mortuary coffin occurs in a time of lessthan 4 minutes, preferably less than 2 minutes, when the temperatureinside the oven is above 400° C., preferably between 650 and 800° C.

Furthermore, advantageously, with the cremation process of the presentinvention, the time required for the demolition of the outer surface ofthe mortuary coffin is between 1 and 8 minutes, preferably between 1 and3 minutes starting from the initiation of the combustion reaction. Incomparison with the known cremation processes, moreover, the timenecessary to achieve the combustion of the cover of the coffin, i.e.,the time of demolition of the cover, in the process of the invention canbe reduced up to 90%, as highlighted by the results of the example 3 andcomparative example 1.

Preferably but not necessarily, the accelerant further comprises from0.1 to 90% by weight, based on the total weight of the accelerant, ofone or more co-formulants.

These co-formulants are preferably of natural origin.

They preferably have the function of stabilizers, non-agglomeratingagents or accelerators of the combustion reaction.

Among the compounds with non-agglomerating function, the compounds whichfacilitate the distribution of the compound of the invention and whichare active at high temperatures, such as, by way of example not to beconsidered as limitating, talc, silica, fumed silica, sodium silicate,bentonite and/or polydimethylsiloxane are preferred.

As to the co-formulants with reaction accelerating function, they arepreferably selected from oxides, sulphates and bicromates, morepreferably from metal oxides, metal sulphates and metal bicromates, evenmore preferably from iron oxides, iron sulphates and potassiumbicromates.

Among iron oxides, ferric oxide is preferred.

When the co-formulant is a metal oxide, it is preferably present in anamount comprised between 0.5% and 7% by weight, more preferably between1% and 5% by weight, based on the total weight of the accelerant.

Furthermore, such co-formulants could comprise substances and incensesas a symbol of solemnity and honour to the person.

It is not excluded that, according to alternative embodiments of theinvention, the co-formulants may comprise compounds which partiallyreduce the combustion reaction speed, such as, by way of example not tobe considered as limitating, mixtures of water, oxamides andpolyacrylates.

Furthermore, it is not excluded that according to alternativeembodiments of the invention, such co-formulants comprise othersubstances known for use in the combustion processes.

Still, it is not excluded that in alternative embodiments of theinvention such co-formulants are not present.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the accelerantis in the form of micropellets, each of which has dimensions rangingfrom 0.2 to 5 mm, preferably from 0.5 to 3 mm.

Advantageously, the micropellet form allows the accelerant of theinvention to present a greater interaction surface with the wood of themortuary coffin, promoting its destruction by combustion.

Still advantageously, the use of the accelerant in micropellet form inthe process of the invention promotes the diffusion of heat between theparticles of the accelerant itself to further speed up the process.

In particular, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention,the accelerant is used in an amount comprised between 0.4 and 4 kg,preferably between 1 and 3.5 kg, for each mortuary coffin to be burnedin the crematorium oven. When the thickness of the outer surface of themortuary coffin is comprised between 1 and 3 cm, preferably about 2 cm,the best results in terms of combustion times are obtained if theaccelerant is used in an amount between 3 and 4 kg, preferably about 3.5kg.

In fact, the applicants have advantageously identified that in order toachieve a total combustion in the short times indicated above, of awooden surface of medium density and thickness of about 2 cm of amortuary coffin, the accelerant is placed on the outer surface of theaforementioned coffin so as to form a layer of about 18-25 mm ofthickness, corresponding to about 2-3.2 g of accelerant per cm² ofsurface up to cover a surface of about 1000-1400 cm².

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, this amount ofaccelerant is arranged on the outer surface of the cover of the mortuarycoffin, so that it can be stably placed on the cover before putting thecoffin inside the oven or, alternatively, when the coffin has alreadybeen placed inside the oven, before initiating the combustion reaction.

According to the preferred embodiment of the process of the invention,the accelerant is contained in an article 1 comprising a casing 10 or asubstrate of combustible material.

A first embodiment of the article 1 of the invention is shown, by way ofexample not to be considered as limitating, in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The aforementioned article 1, according to this first embodiment,comprises a casing 10 of combustible material, preferably cellulose,cardboard or paper.

A plurality of chambers 11 is identified inside the casing 10, eachchamber being isolated from the external environment and from the otherchambers 11 by a plurality of partition walls P.

Each of those chambers 11 preferably has a substantially prismatic shapewith hexagonal base, as shown in FIG. 2.

Preferably but not necessarily, the casing 10 has a substantiallyprismatic shape, as shown in FIG. 1 in which the casing 10 is shown inan open configuration, i.e., with the cover of the casing not arrangedclosing the article 1.

It is specified that in the process of the invention the article 1 isused in a closed configuration, i.e., with the aforementioned coverclosing the casing, as shown in FIG. 3.

It is not excluded, however, that according to alternative embodimentsof the invention this casing has a different shape from what isspecified.

According to the aforementioned first embodiment of the article 1, ineach of these chambers 11 at least a part of the accelerant of theinvention is contained, as shown in FIG. 1.

The chamber configuration of the article 1 advantageously allowsdistributing the accelerant of the invention substantially on the entiresurface of the bottom of the casing homogeneously, i.e., in such a waythat the accelerant is subdivided in a regular way, on an extendedsurface, promoting the interaction of the agent with the cover of themortuary coffin and therefore further accelerating the combustion.

Further advantageously, the use of the accelerant contained in thearticle 1 allows preventing the accelerant from dripping along the sidewalls of the mortuary coffin and settling on the bottom of thecrematorium oven during the initiation and conduction of the combustionreaction.

In fact, during the cremation process of the invention, the accelerantpasses from the solid form to the liquid form which can drip on thebottom of the oven, decreasing its accelerating capacity of thecombustion reaction.

A second embodiment of the article 1 also forms part of the invention,not shown in the figures.

According to this second embodiment of the article 1, the casing 10 is abag made of combustible material, preferably a combustible andbiodegradable material, more preferably a material deriving frombiodegradable bio-based polymers. Inside this bag there is a predefinedamount of the accelerant of the invention.

Preferably, during the cremation process of the invention, theaforementioned bag containing the accelerant is arranged on the outersurface of the mortuary coffin together with a support element 20 shownin FIGS. 4, 5 and 5 a.

In particular, this support element 20 comprises a resting plane 21provided with a plurality of through holes 21 a and delimitedperimetrically by a frame 22.

As visible in FIG. 4, this frame 22 is a frame with a continuoussurface.

Preferably, the aforementioned perforated resting plane 21 is spacedfrom the upper perimeter edge a and from the lower perimeter edge b ofthe frame 22 so as to take on an intermediate position between theseperimeter edges a, b. This intermediate position allows defining anupper zone, delimited laterally by the upper part of the aforementionedframe 22 and below from the resting plane 21 which is adapted to supportthe bag with the accelerant. Furthermore, this intermediate positionallows the perforated resting plane 21 to be spaced from the outersurface of the mortuary coffin when the support element 20 is used inthe cremation process of the invention.

Advantageously, during the process of the invention, the bag containingthe accelerant is positioned on the perforated resting plane 21 of thesupport element 20 which, in turn, is placed on the outer surface of themortuary coffin.

In this way, during combustion, the bag degrades due to the hightemperatures reached and the accelerant contained therein, thanks to theframe 22 and the distance present between the outer surface of thecoffin and the perforated resting plane 21, forcibly drips through theholes 21 a on the cover of the mortuary coffin, interacting therewithand accelerating its combustion.

Preferably, the support element 20 is made of non-combustible material,preferably of metallic material, more preferably stainless steel, so asnot to be degraded during the cremation process and therefore can beadvantageously used in several different cremation cycles.

It is not excluded that, according to alternative embodiments of theinvention, the accelerant is contained in the aforementioned bag andthat the latter is placed directly on the surface of the mortuarycoffin, without therefore using the support element 20.

A kit for the accelerated combustion of a mortuary coffin in a cremationprocess, in particular in a cremation process using a crematorium oven,is also part of the present invention.

The kit of the invention comprises at least one bag of combustiblematerial, preferably of combustible and biodegradable material,containing the accelerant described above.

The kit of the invention further comprises at least one support element20 as described above, including the variants.

It is specified that a third embodiment of the article 1 is also part ofthe present invention, not shown in the figures. According to this thirdembodiment, the article 1 comprises a substrate of combustible materialcontaining a predefined amount of the accelerant of the invention.

In particular, the substrate comprises one or more layers of combustiblematerial, wherein at least one of these layers is impregnated with theaccelerant.

Advantageously, such combustible material is also a flexible materialsuch that, when the article 1 comprising the aforementioned substrateimpregnated with an accelerant is placed on the outer surface of themortuary coffin for the process of the invention, it can adapt to theprofile of the latter, promoting the interaction of the agent with thecover of the coffin, accelerating its combustion.

Still advantageously, the article 1 comprising the aforementionedsubstrate impregnated with an accelerant, is also suitable for use inthose cremation processes where the corpse to be cremated is placedinside a crematorium oven without the interposition of a mortuarycoffin.

In fact, this impregnated substrate, being made of flexible material, isadapted to be placed directly on the corpse or below the corpse or evenby wrapping the aforementioned corpse adapting to its profile, avoidingaccidentally moving away therefrom when it is inserted inside of thecrematorium oven for cremation operations.

Moreover, thanks to the presence of the accelerant, the aforementionedsubstrate performs the accelerating function of the cremation operationsof the corpse itself.

An example of such cremation processes which do not involve the use of amortuary coffin comprises the cremation process of animals, inparticular pets.

Coming back to the third embodiment of the article 1 of the invention,the aforementioned substrate comprises a fabric or a non-woven fabricimpregnated with the accelerant of the invention.

By way of example, not to be considered as a limitation, the substratemay comprise an animal fibre fabric such as wool or silk, or a vegetablefibre such as linen, cotton, hemp, jute, raffia, ramie, kapok, kenaf,bamboo, brown sugar, sisal, etc.

A method not to be considered as a limitation for making such asubstrate comprises the following steps:

-   -   impregnating the fabric or non-woven fabric with a solution or        emulsion or suspension, preferably aqueous, comprising the        accelerant of the invention;    -   drying the impregnated fabric or non-woven fabric obtained from        the previous step by completely or partially removing the        solvent.

It is not excluded that, according to embodiments of the invention, theaforementioned substrate is impregnated with the accelerant by means oftechniques other than those reported.

Furthermore, it is not excluded that, according to embodiments of theinvention, the substrate is made of a material other than that reported,provided that this material is a combustible and flexible materialadapted to be impregnated with the accelerant of the invention, forexample a bio-based biodegradable polymer.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will appear uponreading the following examples, which must be considered as illustrativeand not limiting, and in which five mortuary coffins have been subjectedto cremation with or without the accelerant of the invention, in afuelled crematorium oven.

In the following examples, the determination of the demolition time ofthe cover of the mortuary coffin was assessed by detecting the timerequired for the collapse of at least a part of the cover of themortuary coffin inside the same coffin.

EXAMPLES Example 1

1 kg of accelerant in micropellets consisting of 98% by weight ofpotassium nitrate and of 2% by weight of inevitable impurities, based onthe total weight of the agent, was inserted inside a plurality ofchambers isolated from the external environment, defined inside aparallelepiped cardboard casing.

The casing was then surrounded by a frame of metallic material andplaced on top of a fir wood mortuary coffin with each outer surface,including the cover, having a thickness corresponding to about 2.5 cm.

Such a metallic frame was used to allow the determination of thedemolition time of the cover of the mortuary coffin, i.e., the timeelapsed from the start of the combustion initiating operation until thefall of this frame inside the coffin due to the collapse of a part ofthe cover following the degradation caused by combustion.

The mortuary coffin with the casing was then inserted into a fuelledcrematorium oven which was heated by igniting burners.

The initiation of the combustion reaction occurred about 1.38 minutesafter reaching an internal temperature of the oven of 715° C. and thedemolition time was 2.25 minutes from the initiation of the reaction.

At the end of the cremation process, the mortuary coffin was removedfrom the oven and the internal walls of the latter were assessed todetermine the presence of any solid waste material deriving from thecombustion of the accelerant. No waste material resulting from theaccelerant was found.

Example 2

0.5 kg of accelerant as indicated in example 1 were placed on a mortuarycoffin that was inserted in a fuelled crematorium oven similarly to whatis indicated in the previous example.

The initiation of the combustion reaction was detected after about 1.21minutes after reaching a temperature inside the oven of 718° C. Thedemolition time was 6.37 minutes from the initiation of the reaction.

No waste material deriving from the accelerant was found at the end ofthe cremation process.

Example 3

1 kg of accelerant as indicated in example 1 was placed on a mortuarycoffin which was inserted in a crematorium oven as indicated in example1, except for the fact that the enclosure was not surrounded by themetallic frame.

The initiation of the combustion reaction was instantaneous when atemperature inside the oven of 740° C. was reached. The demolition timewas 1.2 minutes from the initiation of the reaction.

No waste material resulting from the accelerant was found.

Example 4

1 kg of accelerant as indicated in example 1 was placed on a mortuarycoffin which was inserted in a crematorium oven as indicated in example1, except for the fact that the enclosure was not surrounded by themetallic frame and the burners of the crematorium oven were not ignitedin order to assess the effect of the radiant temperature of thecrematorium oven on the cremation process of the invention.

The initiation of the combustion reaction was detected after about 1.21minutes after reaching a temperature inside the oven of 718° C. Thedemolition time was 2.26 minutes from the initiation of the reaction.

Comparative Example 1

A fir wood mortuary coffin, with each outer surface, including thecover, having a thickness corresponding to about 2.5 cm, similar to themortuary coffins used in examples 1-4, without the accelerant, wasinserted inside of a fuelled crematorium oven which was heated byigniting the burners.

The initiation of the combustion reaction occurred about 10 minutesafter reaching an internal temperature of the oven of 660° C. and thedemolition time was 12 minutes from the initiation of the reaction.

Comparative Example 2

1 kg of accelerant as indicated in example 1 was placed on the plane ofrefractory material, previously cleaned, inside a fuelled crematoriumoven to assess the reaction of the combustion of the accelerant of theinvention with the internal walls of the crematorium oven.

The combustion process, carried out at a temperature of about 700° C.,was carried out for a duration of about 10 minutes.

At the end of the process, 90% of the accelerant resulted as havingreacted.

The remaining 10% of the accelerant was found on the plane of refractorymaterial inside the oven in the form of removable dust by using theshovel for collecting ashes.

There were no evident damages or reactions due to the contact betweenthe accelerant and the internal walls and the refractory plane of thecrematorium oven.

Therefore, based on the above, the present invention has achieved all ofthe predetermined objects.

In particular, the object of realizing a cremation process of rapidimplementation which improves the performance of the crematorium ovens,both from an operational point of view reducing the time of the singlecremation process, and from an economical point of view increasing thedaily productivity of the oven has been achieved.

Furthermore, the cremation process of the invention can be carried outin any crematorium oven known per se, independently of theconformational structure of the oven itself.

Furthermore, the cremation process of the invention does not cause theintroduction of dangerous compounds into the environment other thanthose produced in a cremation process known per se, and moreover, ifconducted according to what previously reported, it does not present anexplosion risk.

Furthermore, the cremation process of the invention allows obtaining arapid destruction of the wooden planks of the mortuary coffin increasingthe surface actually hit by the flames of the burners and decreasing thetime required for combustion.

Furthermore, the cremation process of the invention is reliable, safe,repeatable, economical and easily achievable by the operators in chargeof the cremation in the crematorium ovens known per se.

Last but not least, the cremation process of the present inventionrespects the formal and ethical requirements in the treatment of thecorpse, not mechanically intervening on the body and not usingsubstances not accepted by the common feeling.

1. A perfected cremation process comprising the following operations:placing a mortuary coffin inside a crematorium oven configured to carryout the combustion of said mortuary coffin and cremation of the corpsecontained in said mortuary coffin; initiating the combustion of saidmortuary coffin; conducting the combustion of said mortuary coffin for atime such as to achieve the degradation of said mortuary coffin;arranging a combustion accelerant on an outer surface of said mortuarycoffin before said initiation operation, said accelerant comprising acompound selected from alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts,ammonium salts, alkali metal peroxides or alkaline earth metalperoxides.
 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein said compound isan alkali metal nitrate.
 3. The process according to claim 1, whereinsaid accelerant comprises from 10 to 99.9% by weight based on the totalweight of said accelerant, of said compound.
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled)6. The process according to claim 1, wherein said accelerant furthercomprises from 0.1 to 90% by weight, based on the total weight of saidaccelerant, of one or more co-formulants.
 7. The process according toclaim 1, wherein said operation for initiating the combustion of saidmortuary coffin occurs in a time of less than 4 minutes when it isconducted at a temperature higher than 400° C.
 8. The process accordingto any one of the preceding claim 1, wherein said accelerant is in theform of micropellets, each of said micropellets having size comprisedbetween 0.2 and 5 mm.
 9. The process according to claim 1, wherein saidaccelerant is contained in an article provided with a casing ofcombustible material.
 10. The process according to claim 1, wherein saidaccelerant is contained in a plurality of chambers defined inside saidcasing, each of said chambers being isolated from the externalenvironment and from the other chambers by a plurality of partitionwalls.
 11. The process according to claim 1, wherein said casing has asubstantially prismatic shape and said chambers each have asubstantially prismatic shape with hexagonal base.
 12. The processaccording to claim 9, wherein said casing is a bag.
 13. The processaccording to claim 12, wherein said bag containing said accelerant isplaced on a support element of non-combustible material; said supportelement comprising a perforated resting plane delimited perimetricallyby a frame; said bag containing said accelerant being placed on saidperforated resting plane.
 14. The process according to claim 13, whereinsaid perforated resting plane is spaced from an upper perimeter edge anda lower perimeter edge of said frame so as to take on an intermediateposition between said perimeter edges which allows said perforatedresting plane to be spaced from said outer surface of said mortuarycoffin when said support element is placed on said mortuary coffin.15.-17. (canceled)
 18. A substrate to accelerate a cremation operationof a corpse of an animal in a crematorium oven in an animal cremationprocess, said substrate comprising one or more layers made of a flexiblecombustible material, at least one of said one or more layers beingimpregnated with a predefined amount of an accelerant, said accelerantcomprising a compound selected from alkali metal salts, alkaline earthmetal salts, ammonium salts, alkali metal peroxides or alkaline earthmetal peroxides, said substrate being placed directly on said corpse orbelow said corpse or by wrapping said corpse adapting to its profilewhen said corpse is inserted inside said crematorium oven for saidanimal cremation process.
 19. A kit for the accelerated combustion of amortuary coffin in a cremation process, comprising at least one bag ofcombustible material containing a combustion accelerant and at least onesupport element of non-combustible material; said accelerant comprisinga compound selected from alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts,ammonium salts, alkali metal peroxides or alkaline earth metalperoxides; said support element comprising a perforated resting planedelimited perimetrically by a frame configured to support said bag; saidsupport element being adapted to be disposed on an outer surface of amortuary coffin.
 20. The kit according to claim 19, wherein saidperforated resting plane is spaced from an upper perimeter edge and froma lower perimeter edge of said frame so as to take on an intermediateposition between said perimeter edges.